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HTBS@10: A Decade of Decisive Moments

‘Two Gentlemen’, Henley, 2016.

13 March 2019

By Tim Koch

Tim Koch picks out those of his photos that he Leica the most.

Henri Cartier-Bresson, the photographer whose candid and spontaneous pictures helped establish photojournalism as an art form, viewed photography as ‘capturing a decisive moment’. While my photography may not be up to the standard of Monsieur C-B, at present my computer holds 15,466 of the photographs that I have taken over the past ten years and consider worth keeping. The majority of these images are rowing related, something that is a sad reflection on me, but, hopefully, has resulted in some interesting ‘decisive moments’ appearing on HTBS. To mark the 10 years since Göran Buckhorn started ‘Hear The Boat Sing’ on 12 March 2009, I decided to pick out the 10 of my pictures that I consider best capture a particular aspect of the sport of rowing. Soon, however, the ‘top ten’ turned into the ‘top twenty’…… which morphed into the ‘top thirty’…. and which eventually became the ‘top thirty-one’. The final alliteration is not very satisfactory, but I hope that the pictures are. If I had stuck to my original plan, the first 10 photos shown are the ones that I would have chosen. As with all original HTBS pictures, ‘click’ on each to enlarge (and, if you click a second time, it may even enlarge again).

Prior to Eton’s Procession of Boats, 2011.Osiris, 2015.Alan Campbell, The Wingfield Sculls, 2010.Alexander Leichter (CUBC, 2015 and Goldie, 2013 and 2014) at the 2017 Boat Race. Although I asked Alexander to stand under the Cambridge sign, it did not strike me at the time that the colours of his shirt and scarf exactly matched the background.Abingdon School racing in the Fawley Challenge Cup, Henley, 2016.A member of Royal Chester at the finish, Henley, 2017.The 2015 Wingfield Sculls in Fulham Reach.The 2012 Doggett’s Coat and Badge. Gary Anness (1982) watches the eventual winner, Nathaniel Brice, approaching the former Battersea Power Station. No filters were used in this or any of my pictures.‘Elegance and Effort’, Henley, 2015.A member of the Gonzaga College High School Crew, USA, Henley, 2017.Auriol Kensington RC, Henley Women’s Regatta, 2015.Terry Enever, winner of Doggett’s in 2008, pictured outside Fishmongers’ Hall in 2013.Leander, Henley Woman’s Regatta, 2016.Goldie in training, 2018. This picture is an example of a picture that is pleasing because it (accidentally) obeys a classical composition rule known as the ‘golden triangle’. This says that to create a harmonious image, at least the main subject should form a triangle. Here, the outline of both the launch and the eight make such a shape.‘Patterns’, Henley, 2016.‘Not Waving but Drowning’, Griffin Boat Club at the 2014 Head of the River Race.‘Fifty Shades of Blue’, Putney Bridge, 2015 Oxford – Cambridge Boat Race.Molesey Boat Club, Henley, 2016.The final of Elite Lightweight Double Sculls, Henley Women’s Regatta, 2016. Wallingford beat Exeter University/Edinburgh University by 3/4 length.Team GB supporters, London 2012 Olympic Regatta.‘Nerves on the start’, Reading University, Henley Women’s Regatta, 2011.Yale’s Remenham crew, Henley 2018.Hugh Mackworth-Pread of Auriol Kensington, Henley 2015.Oxford, Boat Race Day 2015.Kluge (bow) and Ernsting (stroke) of Celler Ruderverein e.V. and Berliner Ruderclub, Germany, Henley 2016.The Malmö – Kungälv composite from Sweden returning from the finish, Henley Vets, 2015.Western RC, Canada, winners of the Remenham Challenge Cup, Henley 2012, retrieve their cox.Molesey Boat Club winning the Wyfolds, Henley, 2018.Rough water on the 2016 Oxford – Cambridge Women’s Boat Race.Leander, winners of Senior Double Sculls, Henley Women’s Regatta, 2016.